Niche constructors are particularly important in colonizing new environments. One of the easiest ways to measure this effect on evolution has been in the effect that the number of earthworms has on soil fertility, a measure of how hospitable an environment is to plant growth. Even the least fertile soil has around 62 worms per square meter, and as the number of worms increases so does soil fertility. As worms move through the different layers of soil, they eat, digest, and excrete massive amounts of organic matter. They leave their excretions behind in the form of nutrient-rich droppings known as casings. As these casings decompose, they release nutrients into the soil. This process not only moves nutrients from one layer of the soil to another but also converts the nutrients to forms that plants can absorb and process more easily. Because it is easier for plants to get the proper nutrients, plants don’t have to invest time and energy into making better root systems to gather nutrients. 1 Therefore, plants have, over time, lost some of these mechanisms – a form of evolution. 

Since 1988, the mission of molecular gastronomy has shifted. Kurti and This originally sought to investigate “kitchen old wives’ tales,” invent new recipes, improve old ones, and make the case to the public that science was a useful part of everyday life. Even if their experiments weren’t intended to be replicated in home kitchens, they were intended to encourage home cooks to experiment. Today, molecular gastronomists seek to explore the social, artistic, and technical aspects of food preparation. Some have argued that this shift in focus, along with the fact that techniques in molecular gastronomy have so far surpassed what any home cook could do, means that molecular gastronomy has lost its ability to impact how the world cooks at home.

 1 To these ends, the belief in experimentation lives on outside the world of molecular gastronomy. Cooking magazines and websites now often have what are called “test kitchens” – departments dedicated not only to testing new recipes but also to improving techniques and testing uses for kitchen implements themselves. These test kitchens have taken the spirit of experimentation from Kurti and This’s early work and have applied it to everything from the best way to make fried chicken to the ideal temperature at which to bake chocolate chip cookies. While these experiments might not involve lab equipment, they have fulfilled one of Kurti and This’s early dreams: they show the importance of scientific thinking outside of the halls of science.

People looking to eat a healthy diet would be well advised to look beyond the advertised benefits of food products.  For example, most products labeled “fat free” or “low fat” contain large amounts of carbohydrates and starches, elements that don’t qualify as “fat” themselves but that nonetheless lead to weight gain and obesity.  For instance, ingredients like sugar and corn syrup are more likely to lead to weight gain than are many ingredients with large amounts of fat.  Accordingly, those people interested in eating “healthy” would be well advised to look more closely at all the ingredients and nutritional facts on a product’s packaging, not just at the advertising language that trumpets a particular attribute.​

“Scientists who study fluids know that they produce fractal patterns,” said Taylor. Once he confirmed that they were fractals, he ran a test that enabled him to quantify how complicated the fractal patterns were—1 is a not-very-complex fractal and 2 is highly complex. He did this because his team had a wealth of historic data from when Rorschach tests were used to as a psychological exam—they could compare the fractal complexity of a Rorschach blot with the number of images people tended to see in them. What they found was that the more fractal complexity an image had, the fewer images people claimed to spot.

This matters because fractals are all over nature: trees, coastlines, clouds are all fractal. Conversely, when a Rorschach blot has a simple fractal pattern, it could look like a lot of different things that we see in the natural world. As the image gets increasingly complex, the number of things it might resemble goes down. But what’s puzzling is the fact that our brain does this at all.

Despite the warnings of environmental scientists, the waterfront building project has not yet had an adverse effect on the riverbed ecosystem.​

Studies have linked literacy to a variety of both individual and societal benefits. However, in an increasingly digital and fast-paced world, emphasis on and access to literacy and literary-building resources have decreased over the past several years. Additionally, to combat this important issue, we should reallocate public funds to resources such as the public library and school reading clubs and competitions.

Video games are commonly associated with addictive and potentially violent tendencies in young children. However, there is far more evidence to suggest that video games, in moderation, help children to develop cognitive and social skills.

After Gaudi’s death, work stalled between 1936 and 1940 when Civil War broke out in Spain and again as World War II began, leaving the project years behind schedule. During the wars, Catalan anarchists destroyed part of the basilica and the models and designs Gaudi left for the builders, 1 who disagreed with the direction the building should take. It took years for the project to get back on track; once it was, it was impossible to know whether additional construction would match Gaudi’s vision.

The Sagrada Familia, one of the most iconic structures in Barcelona, remains unfinished, a constant work-in-progress in the Barcelona skyline. Despite these setbacks, it is open to the public for both religious services and tourism, attracting over three million visitors a year. In fact, tourist entrance fees now pay for annual construction costs 1 each year now that it is open to the public. 

United States presidents William Henry Harrison and John Tyler, both originally natives of Charles City County, Virginia, share a unique place in American history.